United Nations Foundation Awards $30 Million to UN Efforts Throughout the World

11th Round of Funding Since 1998 Focuses on Protecting the Environment, Improving the Health of Adolescent Girls, Promoting Peace and Security

Washington, DC —
August 14, 2002

The United Nations Foundation (UN Foundation) announced today a major round of grant making totaling nearly $30 million to support UN efforts around the world. The announcement follows the July 2002 meeting of the UN Foundation board of directors, led by Chairman and Founder, Ted Turner. An additional $13 million has been awarded since November 2001, bringing the 2002 total to $43 million. Following the Board Meeting, held in Cambridge, England, Mr. Turner said of his historic gift to the United Nations that it was an “investment in the future of humanity.”

Grants were awarded in all four program areas in which the UN Foundation works. They are: children’s health; women and population; peace, security and human rights; and the environment.

Louise Fréchette, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations remarked, “We are delighted with the valuable assistance of the United Nations Foundation on a whole range of projects in support of the United Nations. The Foundation’s ability to establish innovative networks and alliances is a real asset for us, since it enables the United Nations and civil society to work together in obtaining results, especially at the field level.”

Deputy Secretary-General Fréchette chairs the United Nations Fund for International Partnerships’ (UNFIP)Advisory Board, which reviews projects submitted by UN agencies and recommends them to the UN Foundation Board for approval. UNFIP is the central coordinating mechanism within the United Nations for working with the Foundation.

More than half of the total grant money went to environmental projects, specifically in the areas of biodiversity and climate change. Since its creation in 1998 the United Nations Foundation has focused on biodiversity as a major area of grantmaking. UNF has partnered with the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Center to support and promote the management and conservation of the world’s most biodiverse areas.

Additionally, UNF works with the United Nations, governments, NGOs, and the private sector to develop and implement sustainable, clean energy solutions to address global climate change in three major greenhouse gas emitting developing countries, China, India, and Brazil.

UN Foundation President, Timothy E. Wirth commented that, “The grants approved by our board represent a significant investment by governments, NGOs and private corporations to stand side-by-side with the UN in tackling the issues of environmental degradation, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and the tragic deaths of women and children due to disease, oppression, war and violence. We at the UN Foundation are proud to help make these partnerships possible.”

A short list of the grants awarded follows.

Environment – Biodiversity. The UN Foundation board approved four grants to support two UN agencies, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the UN Education, Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). These funds will support work in and around Natural World Heritage Sites in at least seven countries – Brazil, Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Congo, Gabon, and Uganda.

Environment – Climate Change. The UN Foundation board approved four grants to support four UN agencies – UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), UN Development Program (UNDP), UN Environment Program (UNEP), and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA). The grants will provide funds for energy conservation efforts in Brazil, China, India, bring electricity to 20,000 rural homes and businesses in southern India, and create the first venture capital fund in China dedicated to promoting clean energy enterprises.

Children’s Health. The UN Foundation board approved two grants to support an ongoing campaign to immunize children in Africa against measles, and create HIV/AIDS investment “menus”. The Measles Partnership is comprised of the UN Foundation, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the American Red Cross, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization (WHO). The investment menus will be used to raise private sector funds for ongoing HIV/AIDS projects in Ukraine, Jamaica, and Namibia.

Peace, Security, and Human Rights. The UN Foundation board approved eight grants to support five UN agencies – UNDP, Department of Disarmament Affairs (DDA), UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the Department of Peace Keeping Operations (DPKO). The funds will go to a variety of projects in the Balkans, East Timor, Guatemala and other countries. These projects focus on creating peace building initiatives, disarmament education for children, leadership and management training, expand human rights strategies, establish security policy in Guatemala, and address the needs of children living in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Women and Population. The UN Foundation board approved two grants to support the WHO and UNAIDS. The funds to support WHO will go towards developing a joint UN initiative aimed at improving the lives of young Haitian women and girls through health, development, and socio-political interventions. The UNAIDS grant will go towards developing community-based HIV/AIDS education and prevention strategies in India.

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The United Nations Foundation was created in 1998 with businessman and philanthropist R.E. Turner’s historic gift to support UN causes. The United Nations Foundation promotes a more peaceful, prosperous, and just world through the support of the United Nations and its Charter. Through its grantmaking and by building new and innovative public-private partnerships, the United Nations Foundation acts to meet the most pressing health, humanitarian, socioeconomic, and environmental challenges of the 21st century.